Вы находитесь на странице: 1из 14

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies

BioScience Argentina: BioMobile and the telemedicine market


Jaqueline Pels Natalia Schurmann Maria Candelaria Garcia
Article information:
To cite this document:
Jaqueline Pels Natalia Schurmann Maria Candelaria Garcia , (2011)," BioScience Argentina: BioMobile and the telemedicine market ",
Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, Vol. 1 Iss 3 pp. 1 - 13
Permanent link to this document:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/20450621111180972
Downloaded on: 01 February 2017, At: 22:28 (PT)
References: this document contains references to 0 other documents.
To copy this document: permissions@emeraldinsight.com
Downloaded by Gurukula Kangri Vishwavidyalaya, Doctor Rajul Bhardwaj At 22:28 01 February 2017 (PT)

The fulltext of this document has been downloaded 290 times since 2011*
Users who downloaded this article also downloaded:
(2012),"Mobile marketing at Telenor Pakistan – a MAD strategy?", Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, Vol. 2 Iss 1 pp. 1-36 http://
dx.doi.org/10.1108/20450621211214478
(2011),"Customer asset management at DHL in Asia", Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, Vol. 1 Iss 1 pp. 1-6 http://
dx.doi.org/10.1108/20450621111117413

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emerald-srm:548937 []
For Authors
If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about
how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/
authors for more information.
About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.com
Emerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than
290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional
customer resources and services.
Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and
also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.

*Related content and download information correct at time of download.


BioScience Argentina: BioMobile and the
telemedicine market
Jaqueline Pels, Natalia Schurmann and Maria Candelaria Garcia
Downloaded by Gurukula Kangri Vishwavidyalaya, Doctor Rajul Bhardwaj At 22:28 01 February 2017 (PT)

Jaqueline Pels is a 1. Introduction


Marketing Professor at
Claudio Bedoya, founder and CEO of BioScience (BS), met twice a year with his team in
University Torcuato Di Tella,
order to plan the firm’s objectives. It was January 2011 and Claudio was very enthusiastic
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Natalia Schurmann and
about launching BioMobile (BM), BS’s new product line associated to the telemedicine
Maria Candelaria Garcia market (provision of long-distance diagnosis services). BS was an Argentine company that
are Research Assistants at had been developing and selling neurological diagnosis equipments since 1995. It was now
University Torcuato Di Tella, going through a phase of intensive changes and growth.
Buenos Aires, Argentina. Claudio had high expectations and had labeled the meeting: ‘‘Telemedicine is the future and
BM will be the absolute reference in the field.’’ Internally, Claudio knew that this was a long
shot. He would be satisfied if, in this meeting, he could get his team to define overall
launching strategy for BM. Claudio looked at the people in the room. Antonio, his partner;
Ydavelis, the marketing manager; and Maria, the sales manager were all looking at the
material he had distributed two weeks ago. The wall clock read 8:30, it was time to start.
He addressed Ydavelis, and asked her: ‘‘Have you defined the market segments? Are the
sales strategies and pricing policy realistic?’’

2. Background
2.1 Industry overview: telemedicine
Telemedicine is a rapidly developing market within clinical medicine. With the adoption of
telecommunication and information technologies, medical information is transferred through
interactive audiovisual media for the purpose of consulting. It has no time or space
constraints enriching services offered by doctors and hospitals.
Figure 1 highlights the functioning of telemedicine. The patient is provided with a mobile
device, which has sensors that constantly measure a set of vital signs. For example, the
device can measure 24*7, the electrocardiogram of the patient, his/her temperature, pulse,
pressure or blood oxygen saturation. The data are transferred through a mobile device
(a mobile phone, a landline, or a computer) to a telco’s cloud. A software program decodes
the data and values of censed parameters are sent by text message or e-mail to the doctor’s
and/or relative’s mobile phones. Moreover, doctors with smart phones can download
applications to read the reception of the data in various formats and produce reports.
Disclaimer. This case is written The benefits of telemedicine:
solely for educational purposes
and is not intended to represent B Improves the patient’s quality of life.
successful or unsuccessful
managerial decision making. B Reduces recovery time of the patient.
The author/s may have
disguised names; financial and B Allows 24*7 availability of specialists with capacity to resolve patients’ problems.
other recognizable information
to protect confidentiality. B Reduces period of time in which patients use a specific health resource.

DOI 10.1108/20450621111180972 VOL. 1 NO. 3 2011, pp. 1-23, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 2045-0621 j EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES j PAGE 1
Figure 1 Relationships between actors and devices in telemedicine
Downloaded by Gurukula Kangri Vishwavidyalaya, Doctor Rajul Bhardwaj At 22:28 01 February 2017 (PT)

Source: BioScience[1]

B Allows specific diagnosis to be done at a patient’s house which, previously, had required
an ambulatory or hospitalized regime.
B Favors patients’ education for a greater adherence to therapy.
B Adds value to the health care center.
B Reduces the health care costs significantly.
B Allows to serve the large aging population with less professionals.
Mobile Health News, in 2009, published an estimate of the growth of the wireless health
industry which showed a 96 per cent average growth per year (Exhibit 1). The Bureau of
Health Professions commissioned a study on the gap between offer and demand of nurses.
The study showed an increasing gap. The document explained that the gap resulted from
the increase of the average age of the population and from the low incentives to study
nursing (Figure 2).

3. Origins
3.1 BS history
Improvement of a patient’s quality of life, through permanent innovation in the field of medical
applied technology and continuous improvement of the instruments used during the diagnosis
(Mission statement).

In 1995, Claudio Bedoya, BA in Business Administration and four years of electronic


engineering studies, worked as Latin America sales manager for an Argentine company
which had been developing medical equipment for the last 20 years. Even though working
conditions were good and growth opportunities interesting, Claudio dreamt with having his
own business. His ten years experience selling medical equipment and his understanding of
the Latin American (LA) market allowed him to detect an opportunity, which as any
entrepreneur, he could not let slip by. Talking with his friend Antonio Musumeci, an Electronic
Engineer with a vast experience in electro-medicine, they realized that, in Latin America, the
quality of locally developed equipment was not always adequate while the imported
equipment were very expensive and had a poor after-sales service. Claudio and Antonio
were certain that if they tried they could develop diagnosis equipment which could allow
them to compete, in quality, with the imported equipment and, in cost, with the national offer.

j j
PAGE 2 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES VOL. 1 NO. 3 2011
Figure 2 Offer and demand of nurses USA, 2000/2020

3,000,000

Demand
2,500,000

2,000,000

Supply
1,500,000

1,000,000

00

02

04

06

08

10

12

14

16

18

20
20

20
Source: Bureau of Health Professions[2]
Downloaded by Gurukula Kangri Vishwavidyalaya, Doctor Rajul Bhardwaj At 22:28 01 February 2017 (PT)

3.1.1 The first development. That year FLENI, an Argentine neurological center, trusted them
with a big project: developing a diagnosis instrument under very strict parameters. These
were requisites, which only large multinationals could achieve. Claudio and Antonio decide
to accept the challenge. They quit their jobs and founded BS.
Developing its first computerized electroencephalogram (CEEG), an instrument which
measures electric activity inside patients’ brains, took Antonio’s team more than a year of hard
work but resulted in the first portable diagnostic device integrated in one simple box with
communication to a standard computer. Once their first development had resulted in a success,
BS started to commercialize it with equipment produced by third parties. This strategy allowed
them to complete their portfolio and obtain a substantial number of clients. Claudio knew that
their CEEG could compete internationally and saw it as BS’s letter of presentation for all Latin
America. By 1999, they had closed deals in Chile, Venezuela and Mexico.
Claudio was always looking for growth opportunities. In an epilepsy conference in Prague,
he contacted Stellate Systems – a well known Canadian firm which developed software for
medical instruments. Stellate had no presence in Latin America thus accepted an
agreement which allowed BS to commercialize their own hardware with Stellate’s software in
Spanish speaking countries. The selling brand became BS – Stellate. This alliance provided
international recognition to BS’s equipment.
3.1.2 BS in Latin America. At the beginning of 2001, BS was present in five LA countries
(Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Venezuela and Brazil) through commercial distributors. In
Argentina, BS was recognized by its excellent after-sales service, differencing themselves
from the rest of their competitors. This highly valued service was not provided by any of the
LA distributors. In 2007, Claudio decided to interrupt the relation with all of the commercial
distributors and open BS offices in each country. This strategy was a huge success allowing
BS to reach a 15 per cent of market share in the LA market of neurological diagnosis
equipment by 2010.
3.1.3 New challenges: telemedicine. Claudio was trying to understand the new trends in
medical diagnostic equipment. He noticed an overall tendency. As in technology in general,
medical equipment also tended towards smaller, ambulatory equipments, which may be
used at home or by the doctor in his/her private practice. Doctors’ looked for higher
precision, smaller size and lower cost. This was a huge opportunity for BS, which had been
born from an effort to develop high quality yet accessible portable equipments.
In 2008, Claudio traveled to a medical conference in Asia, where telemedicine was one of the
central topics of discussion. At the conference, he discovered that growth of the
telemedicine market was highly linked to two trends. First, the high cost of serving an aging
population (and the associated percentage of the population with chronic diseases).
Second, the increase in adoption of smart phones that allowed transmitting vital signals
through mobile devices at much lower costs.

j j
VOL. 1 NO. 3 2011 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES PAGE 3
Antonio had a background within the telecommunication industry. The combination of
experience in both medicine and telecommunications was quite unique and Claudio
immediately saw the possibility of having a first mover’s advantage. Two years later, they had
developed the BM (Exhibit 2).

Figure 3 allows visualizing the functioning of the BM. The patient counts with the BM device
which sends data through the mobile phone to a telco’s cloud, which decodes and transmits
the data to the recipient’s cell phone (doctor, nurse and/or relative).

BM devices not only compile and send data; they also have an alarm system, which are
parameterized within the software. For instance, if a diabetes patient has a critical value of
200, then this value is set as the alarm parameter (in the software), consequently, if the
patient reaches the 200 value (or more), automatically the BM sends an e-mail or text
message to the doctor. The almost instant information between the patient’s collapse and the
moment in which the professional receives the message often is the difference between a
total recuperation, a severe leisure or, at times, death.
Downloaded by Gurukula Kangri Vishwavidyalaya, Doctor Rajul Bhardwaj At 22:28 01 February 2017 (PT)

The BM can be used for monitoring chronic patients either in the hospital or at home. BS
developed a BM product line with four different devices that may be used by patients
suffering respiratory, neurological, diabetes or heart diseases (Exhibit 3).

BS realized that contrary to the neurological market, where it was crucial to be in a clinical
network, in the telemedicine market, it was fundamental to be associated with
telecommunication companies. BS needed the telcos as they had the infrastructure
necessary to offer the service. Alternatively, telcos saw telemedicine as an additional
high-value application they could offer. BS had already signed an alliance with Telefónica
Argentina. The agreement followed the industry practice (such as ringtones) in which the
30 per cent of the profit would go to BS, and the 70 per cent remaining to Telefónica
Argentina. In México, BS was already developing an alliance with Orben, a local
telecommunication company. They were also looking for telecommunication partners in
Venezuela and Chile.

Claudio had asked Maria and Ydavelis to compare the telemedicine market in the USA and
Argentina. As there was no specific data, he suggested looking at the mobile phone market
and the chronic patients market. A summary of the data from the studies had been
distributed to all his team two weeks before the meeting.

Figure 3 BM actors-devices relationship

Patient Doctor

Telecomunication
Source: BioScience[1]

j j
PAGE 4 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES VOL. 1 NO. 3 2011
4. The telemedicine market
4.1 North American market
Claudio was certain that what was happening in the USA was a tendency anticipating what
would be occurring in Latin America.
4.1.1 Patients with chronic diseases in the USA. According to Berg Insight, among the
European and the North American market, 300 million people had at least one chronic
disease and could benefit from telemedicine. Berg Insight believed that approximately
25 per cent of the population may be monitored from their homes and estimated that, by
2020, at least 50 per cent may include medical devices to their mobile phones. Deloitte’s
2009 Survey on Health Care showed that two in three Americans with a chronic condition
were interested in home monitoring technologies to improve health or manage a condition
(Exhibit 4). A survey conducted by Citing Parks Associates and Harris Interactive, reported
that 40 per cent stated that telemedicine will replace the one-to-one medical care they
receive from doctors.
Downloaded by Gurukula Kangri Vishwavidyalaya, Doctor Rajul Bhardwaj At 22:28 01 February 2017 (PT)

The research institute West Wireless Health provided statistics on the number of people
chronic diseases:
1. Respiratory diseases:
B 20 million suffer from asthma.
B 15 million suffer from sleeping disorder.
B Ten million suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
2. Neurological disorder:
B Five million suffer from Alzheimer.
3. Heart diseases:
B Five million suffer from heart failure.
B 74 million suffer from hypertension.
4. Illnesses associated with diabetes:
B 21 million suffer from diabetes.
B 80 million suffer from obesity.
A survey conducted by the National Council on Aging, showed that one out of four people
with chronic diseases were not being treated. This percentage rose to 43 per cent within the
Latin communities.
4.1.2 Mobile phones and applications related to health care in the USA. Gartner’s studies
showed that about 90 per cent of the North American population had a mobile phone.
Approximately 19 per cent of them had smartphones. Nielsen estimated that by the end of
2011 half of the phones sold in the USA would be intelligent phones. Comparatively,
according to Gartner, average worldwide penetration of smartphones was 14 per cent.
Mobile Health News 2009 report stated that approximately 5,000 applications related with
healthcare and medicine were available and smartphones users could buy these
applications from the internet sites such as App-Store. For example, Iphones allowed to
download an application called ‘‘Health Vitals Tracker’’ which allowed measuring the
pressure with the Iphone. The US market of healthcare applications for mobile phones was
expected to grow at a 95 per cent rate by 2013.

4.2 The Argentine market


The facts that favor the use of telemedicine in the Argentine market were:
B the exponential growth of the use of the internet;
B the need to expand the national health infrastructure; and

j j
VOL. 1 NO. 3 2011 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES PAGE 5
B the need to reduce operational costs, for example by reducing the number of patients in
intensive care (by controlling them in an intermediate care unit or from their homes).
Claudio and his team examined the summary of the reports on chronic disease patients and
the mobile phone market.

4.2.1 Patients with chronic diseases in Argentina. Figure 4 shows that the argentine
population can be segmented into three levels:

1. healthy individuals;
2. outpatients and patients with frequent episodes; and
3. chronic patients.
It highlights that 83 per cent of the individuals are either healthy people or outpatients and the
remaining 17 per cent are chronic patients. Figure 4 also shows that chronic and outpatients
spend 79 per cent of the resources while healthy people only account for 21 per cent of the
overall expenditure. The public expenditure of a chronic individual has a fixed floor for the rest
Downloaded by Gurukula Kangri Vishwavidyalaya, Doctor Rajul Bhardwaj At 22:28 01 February 2017 (PT)

of his life, and a variable expenditure that varies as the disease develops; having a steeper
slope than other sick people. The Argentine health system had had an expenditure of
AR$32 billion in 2005 (approximately $11 billon).

A risk-factors survey conducted, in 2006, by the Argentine Ministry of Health showed that:
B 34.7 per cent had had high pressure at least once;
B 34.5 per cent suffered from overweight;
B 27.9 per cent had high levels of cholesterol;
B 14.6 per cent suffered from obesity;
B 11.9 per cent suffered from diabetes; and
B 2.3 per cent suffered from heart failure.
4.2.2 Mobile phones in Argentina. According to a 2010 study conducted by the Indec, the
National Institute of Statistics and Census, there were more mobile phones than inhabitants.
Official numbers showed that by the end of 2009, the number of cell phones had reached
50,409,800 units for a total population of 36,100,000. An intra-annual measurement
revealed that the usage of cell phones increased by 21.7 per cent. The amount of calls
increased 24.5 per cent, and the number of text messages a 19 per cent.

Fayerwayer’s study showed that only 10 per cent of Argentine mobile phones were
smartphones, 30 per cent being underused. However, estimates showed that smartphones
would reach 20 per cent of market share by the end of 2011. Smartphones cost between
$200 and $500. Most were subsidized by operators, although the cost was not zero as in the
USA. Carrier data showed the following market share of smartphones: Nokia 53 per cent;
BlackBerry 34 per cent; Samsung 8 per cent and Motorola 5 per cent.

Figure 4 Percentage of chronic patients and percentage of expenditure by segment

17% Chronic patients 42% Expenditure on chronic


patients
42% Outpatients and
patients with frequent 37% Expenditure on
episodes outpatients and patients
with frequent episodes
41% Healthy individuals 21% Expenditure on healthy
individuals

Source: University of Buenos Aires[3]

j j
PAGE 6 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES VOL. 1 NO. 3 2011
5. BS’s challenges
5.1 Segmenting the Argentine market
Claudio was concentrated in his own line of thoughts, visualizing BS’s future. He did not want
to lose any opportunity but was not sure which was the best way to approach the new market.
The group had worked well and by midmorning, they had agreed on a criterion to classify
chronic patients: localization at the moment of consuming the service. For each segment,
they defined possible value propositions which were synthesized on the room’s white board:
1. Hospitalized patients:
B Full-service: the device þ the subscription for the data transmission service.
B Basic-service: the device but no subscription for the data transmission service
(hospital’s used their server to transfer the data).
2. Outpatients (monitoring chronic patients at home):
Full-service to prepaid medical care firms.
Downloaded by Gurukula Kangri Vishwavidyalaya, Doctor Rajul Bhardwaj At 22:28 01 February 2017 (PT)

B Full-service with direct charges to the patients but with subsidized devices.
3. Ambulance patients (monitoring emergency patients in the ambulances):
B Full-service through the ambulance/emergency firm.
Another scheme had also been discussed. It categorized chronic patients according to their
disease:
B respiratory diseases;
B diabetes;
B neurologic emergencies; and
B heart diseases.

5.2 Marketing strategy by segment


Following the agreed segmentation the team worked with each of them, defining the value
proposition, go-to-market and pricing.
5.2.1 Hospitalized patients. Table I shows the number of establishments and beds for
hospitalization in Argentina according to the Panamerican Health Organization.

Value propositions
BS offered two alternatives:
1. The full-service: the device and the subscription for the data transmission service.
2. The basic-service: the device but no subscription for the data transmission service
(hospital’s used their server to transfer the data).

Costs and pricing


Hospitalized chronic patients or patients with episodes such as a heart attack have to be
monitored 24*7. Claudio considered that telemedicine could save large sums of money in the

Table I Health care establishments with hospitalization services and number of beds
Number of establishments Number of beds available
Total number of health care with hospitalization in health care
establishments (2000) services (2000) establishments (2000)

Argentina 17,845 3,311 153,065


City of Buenos Aires (%) 9.53 5.19 14.34
Rest of the country (%) 90.47 94.81 85.66

Source: Panamerican Health Organization[4]

j j
VOL. 1 NO. 3 2011 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES PAGE 7
intensive care units. In a private hospital, a bed in intensive care unit cost more than $900 per
day (excluding disposable material and medication). A quick calculation showed that a
hospital spent $27,000 per month per bed. Adopting BM’s equipment would help hospitals
transfer patients who still have to be monitored to normal beds or to an intermediate care room.
Device. The cost of producing a BM was $500. Based on their experience with other
diagnostic devices they had decided to charge $3,000 per each BM. It was estimated that in
three years time prices would drop to $1,500. The minimum sale per hospital would consist
of 20 devices.
Data transmission subscription. The sales department of BS and Telefónica Argentina
estimated a $200 monthly fee for the data transfer (with a two-year contract).
In cases in which the hospital would be buying the basic-service (these hospitals would use
their own server) BS would only sell the equipment and would not charge a monthly fee for
the data transmission.
Downloaded by Gurukula Kangri Vishwavidyalaya, Doctor Rajul Bhardwaj At 22:28 01 February 2017 (PT)

Go-to-market
BS’s experience selling neurology diagnosis equipment for almost 15 years, to public and
private hospitals, showed that sales modalities were quite different. In public hospitals, the
budget depended on governmental funds and hospital heads were in charge of initiating the
request to the national authorities. Alternatively, in private hospitals, it was the doctors or
department heads that had a greater influence on the purchase decision.
BS had selling relationships with most large Argentine hospitals such as FLENI, Hospital
Italiano de Buenos Aires, Garrahan Hospital, Perón Hospital. They had been selling BS
neurological diagnosis equipment and Claudio considered, they could use this same sales
force to offer the new product line.
5.2.2 Outpatients (monitoring chronic patients at home). Chronic outpatients can be divided
into two sub-segments: people with and without health insurance. Table II shows the
population covered by health insurance (i.e. prepaid medical care firms) in Argentina
according to the Panamerican Health Organization.

Value proposition
BS offered two alternatives:
1. The full-service to prepaid medical care firms.
2. The full-service with direct charges to the patients but with subsidized devices.

Pricing and go-to-market for prepaid medical care firms


Most of the health insurance companies were working on preventive medicine, thus covered
treatments such as nutrition re-education, smoking cessation and healthy pregnancy. Even
though there were no public statistics prepaid medical care firms knew that it was cheaper to
cover preventive medicine than face future prolonged hospitalizations, emergencies or
handling the costs of a crisis of an affiliate. Exhibit 5 shows the cost per day of healthy people
versus people with a chronic disease in the USA. In the case of the prepaid medical care
firms, BS would offer the full-service (that is, both the device and the subscription) at the
same rates offered to the hospitals and would be using the same sales force.

Table II Population with health insurance


Percentage of the population with health
insurance (2001)

Argentina 51.90
City of Buenos Aires 45.53
Rest of the country 54.47

Source: Panamerican Health Organization[4]

j j
PAGE 8 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES VOL. 1 NO. 3 2011
Pricing and go-to-market when charging directly to the outpatients
A second alternative was developed for patients whose health insurance did not offer a
telemedicine option free of charge, but wished to improve their quality of life. Claudio and his
team believed that patients who were financially capable of buying the device and suffered
from a chronic disease would acquire a BM in order to be connected with their doctor or a
relative. For this segment Telefónica Argentina would buy the devices, subsidize them and
offer the subscription service at a monthly fee of $100 to the final customer.
BS had big doubts on the best distribution channel for this segment. Should they go through:
B the telephone companies;
B pharmacy chains; or
B an independent distributor?
Exhibit 6 shows a survey on best distribution channels for mobile health in the USA.
5.2.3 Ambulance patients (monitoring emergency patients in the ambulances). When
Downloaded by Gurukula Kangri Vishwavidyalaya, Doctor Rajul Bhardwaj At 22:28 01 February 2017 (PT)

patient suffered from an emergency – such as a heart attack or an ACV – he/she might be
monitored, in the ambulance, by a BM. This allows transmitting the patient’s vital signs, to
doctors at the hospital before arrival. Ambulance/emergency firms who offered this service
would provide added value to their associates as this would improve quality of a patient’s
treatment. The ambulance companies would be offered the full-service package: the $200
fee for the subscription for the data transmission service and the devices at $3,000 (with a
minimum purchase of 20 devices). On average private ambulance firms had 66 ambulances
and BS had internal data that estimated there were 75 such firms in Argentina.

5.3 The pilot test


Claudio was thinking of launching BM using Argentina as a pilot test.
Claudio argued:
There are several reasons for my choice. First, if an error occurs I prefer to be near the problem.
Second, it would reduce the overall risks and costs. Third, the Argentine market has several
variables similar to the rest of Latin America making it a good sample case.

Antonio agreed and added: ‘‘We need a first mover’s advantage and to place as many
devices as possible at the premium price’’.
Ydavelis disagreed and showing them Deloitte’s Survey on Health Care argued:
Antonio, look at the data two thirds of the population with a chronic condition are interested in
mobile health, the future is not in the hospitals the future is with the outpatients! I even dare say
that the BioMobile is a mean to reach our customer, not our business.

Antonio was furious; he got up and walked around the table:


Let me remind you of our mission statement we are in the diagnosis d-e-v-i-c-e business not in
data transmission. Besides, we know nothing about selling to ‘‘people’’ our customers have
always been institutions. Furthermore, the data you showed evidences that only 10 per cent of the
population has a smartphone and that these are underused!

Ydavelis thought ‘‘yes, but they will be 20 per cent by the end of the year’’. She said nothing;
Ydavelis knew her place and apologized. She also knew she had placed a seed of doubt
in Claudio.
Claudio felt he needed to step in:
Ydavelis, I’m happy you apologized. You were slightly out of line. Antonio, I agree with you that we
need to get our product development investment back by selling the BioMobile at the highest
possible price, but we both know that devices are one-shot-sales while subscriptions will bring a
constant flow of cash.

Claudio sensed the tension and did not want start an argument. He said: ‘‘I think it has been
a very productive morning, I suggest we stop here.’’

j j
VOL. 1 NO. 3 2011 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES PAGE 9
The meeting room was now empty; crumbs of croissants and empty coffee cups were on the
table. Claudio closed his notebook and looked out the window from the 6th floor of BS’s
offices. He imagined the possible scenarios for 2011. He could not stop going over many of
the arguments discussed with his team, particularly the last exchange between Antonio and
Ydavelis. Some of the questions that kept popping up in his mind were:
B Which were BS’s strength and weaknesses? Which were the CSF in the telemedicine
industry?
B How should BS enter the telemedicine market?
B What did the projected revenue say about each entry strategy?
He knew that he had to define these and other issues as soon as possible so as to have the
first mover’s benefits in Argentina. Conducting a market research may have been really
valuable at the time but, as a good entrepreneur, Claudio had learnt to take decisions in
environments full of uncertainties. Claudio recalled the year 2006 when BS had faced a
serious dilemma about which path to follow:
Downloaded by Gurukula Kangri Vishwavidyalaya, Doctor Rajul Bhardwaj At 22:28 01 February 2017 (PT)

B expanding within the neurology market in Europe or the USA; or


B to steady themselves within the region.
At the time, he had consulted with MBAs students at [XXX]. The BS team felt satisfied with
the experience. It was now time to go back to MBAs to ask them for help for this new and
innovative market.
Before going on with the rest of his day, Claudio listened to his favorite song on his Iphone, it
helped him clear his head and focus on what remained of the day.

Notes
1. BioScience, available at: www.bioscience.com.ar/
Keywords: 2. Bureau of Health Professions, available at: bhpr.hrsa.gov/
Emerging economies,
3. University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires.
Emerging markets,
High-tech products, 4. Panamerican Health Organization, available at: http:\\new.paho.org/arg/
Launching strategies, 5. Mobile Health New, source not provided.
Business-to-business
6. Deloitte (2009), available at: www.deloitte.com/
marketing, B2C,
Telemedicine 7. Intel, available at: www.intel.com/

Exhibit 1: Estimated growth of the wireless health industry ($millions)

Figure E1

4,411

96% average 2,626

1,347

596
304

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013


Source: Mobile Health New[5]

j j
PAGE 10 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES VOL. 1 NO. 3 2011
Exhibit 2: BioMobile, Kit BioCardio example

Figure E2
Downloaded by Gurukula Kangri Vishwavidyalaya, Doctor Rajul Bhardwaj At 22:28 01 February 2017 (PT)

j j
VOL. 1 NO. 3 2011 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES PAGE 11
Exhibit 3: BioMobile product line

Figure E3
Downloaded by Gurukula Kangri Vishwavidyalaya, Doctor Rajul Bhardwaj At 22:28 01 February 2017 (PT)

Exhibit 4: Survey on health care (USA)

Figure E4

Q: How interested Would You Be In Using an In-Home Medical Device That Could Help You Know
What You Needed to Do, and When, to improve Your Healthor Treata Health Condition?
64%
25%
Interest ranges from 51% in the
youngest generation (Gen Y) to 22%
76% in the oldest generation
(Seniors): 71% of consumers who
sought care for a chronic condition 15%
in the past year are interested 71% of the
respondents were
interested
8% 8%

2%
1% 1% 1%

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Not at all interested Extremely interested
Source: Deloitte[6]

j j
PAGE 12 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES VOL. 1 NO. 3 2011
Exhibit 5: Cost of healthy people versus people with chronic diseases

Figure E5
Downloaded by Gurukula Kangri Vishwavidyalaya, Doctor Rajul Bhardwaj At 22:28 01 February 2017 (PT)

Source: Intel[7]

Exhibit 6: Survey on best distribution channels for mobile health in the USA

Figure E6

2010 Share of Respondents 2015 Share of Respondents

1. App stores 53% 1. Hospitals* 65%

2. Healthcare websites 49% 2. Physicians* 65%

3. Physicians* 34% 3. Healthcare websites 56%

4. Webpages of mHealth 33% 4. App stores 51%


solution providers
5. Hospitals* 31% 5. Pharmacies* 46%

6. MNO 20% 6. Webpages of mHealth 44%


solution providers
7. Pharmacies* 16% 7. MNO 35%

• Hospitals, pharmacies, and physicians would recommend or provide mHealth solutions


when patients come in for treatment.
• Source: research 2guidance global mHealth developer survey, n = 231

Corresponding author
Jaqueline Pels can be contacted at: jpels@utdt.edu

j j
VOL. 1 NO. 3 2011 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES PAGE 13

Вам также может понравиться